Polarization Spectroscopy

Research directions / Objectives

Development of cavity-enhanced polarimetry (for improvement of sensitivity and time resolution).
Development of cavity-enhanced ellipsometry (for improvement of sensitivity and time resolution).
Measurement of atomic parity-nonconservation in Iodine, Xenon, and Mercury.
Production of spin-polarized atoms and molecules.

HIGHLIGHTS

European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant (2008-2013), “Time-resolved Ring-Cavity-Enhanced Polarization Spectroscopy (TRICEPS)”.
J. Chem. Phys. 132, 224310 (on photofragment polarization from polyatomic molecules) highlighted as one of 80 papers for the 80th anniversary of JCP: http://imageserve.chem.unc.edu/resources/pdf_files/home_page/JCP_80th_Anniversary.pdf Proposal for cavity-enhanced parity-nonconserving (PNC) optical rotation in Hg, Xe, and I [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 210801 (2012), Editor Suggestion].

· Demonstration of new cavity-enhanced polarimetry techniques:

a) Cavity Ring-Down Ellipsometry (CRDE) [J. Chem. Phys. 31, 121101 (2009)].

b) Evanescent-Wave Cavity Ring-Down Ellipsometry (EW-CRDE) [US patent pending].

c) Chiral-Cavity Ring-Down (CCRD) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 210801 (2012), patent pending].

· First measurement of the complete three-dimensional steric effect in a bimolecular chemical reaction (dependence of reactivity on approach geometry) [F. Wang, K. Liu, T.P. Rakitzis, Nature Chemistry 4, 636 (2012)].

· Proposal and demonstration for the pulsed-laser production of spin-polarized atoms and molecules by the time-dependent transfer of polarization from molecular rotational polarization via the hyperfine interaction [T.P. Rakitzis,Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 83005 (2005)].

· First observation of the photofragment recoil deflection angle, from the photodissociation of OCS molecules three-dimensionally “fixed-in-space” [Rakitzis et al., Science 303, 1852 (2004)].

Production of spin-polarized hydrogen atoms from pulsed molecular photodissociation at high density [Rakitzis et al., Science 300, 1936 (2003)], and pulsed laser-detection.

Research Topics

polarization interest 01

Reasearch interest 1 for gorup Polarization

AGILDA

Agile Data Acquisition: Record Polarimetry & Quantum Optics measurements

NUPOL

Nuclear-spin polarization through molecular laser excitation: from nuclear fusion to NMR enhancement

Enhanced nuclear spin dependent parity violation effects using the 199HgH molecule

A. J. Geddes, L. V. Skripnikov, A. Borschevsky, J. C. Berengut, V. V. Flambaum, T. P. Rakitzis

Phys. Rev. A, Volume:98, Issue:2, Page:022508, Year:2018, DOI:doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.98.022508

Highly nuclear-spin-polarized deuterium atoms from the UV dissociation of Deuterium Iodide

72. D. Sofikitis, P. Glodic, G. Koumarianou, H. Jiang, L. Bougas, P. C. Samartzis, A. Andreev, T. P. Rakitzis

Phys. Rev. Lett., Volume:118, Issue:23, Page:233401, Year:2017, DOI:doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.233401

Macroscopic production of highly nuclear-spin-polarized molecules from IR-excitation and photodissociation of molecular beams

C. S. Kannis,T. Peter Rakitzis

Chem. Phys. Lett. , Volume:784, Page:139092, Year:2021, DOI:doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2021.139092

Ultrahigh-density spin-polarized H and D observed via magnetization quantum beats

D. Sofikitis, C. S. Kannis, G. K. Boulogiannis, T. P. Rakitzis

Phys. Rev. Lett., Volume:121, Page:083001, Year:2018, DOI:doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.083001

Ultrahigh-Density Spin-Polarized Hydrogen Isotopes from the Photodissociation of Hydrogen Halides: New Applications for Laser-Ion Acceleration, Magnetometry, and Polarized Nuclear Fusion

A. K. Spiliotis, M. Xygkis, M. Koutrakis, K. Tazes, G. K. Boulogiannis, C. S. Kannis, G. E. Katsoprinakis, D. Sofikitis, T. P. Rakitzis

Light: Science & Applications , Volume:10, Page:35, Year:2021, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-021-00476-y

Evanescent-wave and ambient chiral sensing by signal-reversing cavity ringdown polarimetry

Dimitris Sofikitis, Lykourgos Bougas, Georgios E. Katsoprinakis, Alexandros K. Spiliotis, Benoit Loppinet & T. Peter Rakitzis

Nature, Volume:514, Issue:7520, Page:76, Year:2014, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature13680

Chiral Cavity Ring Down Polarimetry: Chirality and magnitometry measurements using signal reversals

L. Bougas, D. Sofikitis, G. E. Katsoprinakis, A. K. Spiliotis. P. Tzallas, B. Loppinet, and T. P. Rakitzis

J. Phys. Chem. , Volume:143, Page:104202, Year:2015, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4930109

Spin-Polarized Hydrogen Atoms from Molecular Photodissociation

11. T.P. Rakitzis, P.C. Samartzis, R.L. Toomes, T.N. Kitsopoulos, Alex Brown, G.G. Balint-Kurti, O.S. Vasyutinskii, J.A. Beswick

Science, Volume:300, Page:1936, Year:2003, DOI:doi.org/10.1126/science.1084809

Cavity-enhanced parity non-conserving optical rotation in metastable Xe and Hg